Ok so I was wondering if someone could explain the betta genetics for me.. I've read a few articles and my brain just about exploded! I have 2 halfmoon males one is a mustard gas, one is completely white. Then I also have a red with blue shimmer VT and a black and blue dragon scale male (thats what he was called when i got him)

At the moment I have 4 VT females but am looking for other females as well.. wondering if maybe I should be looking for a specific type. I read a few times that it isnt always best to have the same type for male and female. Is that true as well?

Going to need to give us some specific questions. There's a lot to explain about genetics :)

As for what types you should breed that is up to you. Breeding VT is controversial because they're so widely available.. which makes them less in demand. However, I know personally I would rather get a VT who is home-bred and well cared for than one from a fish store so you can use that to your advantage.

More popular types (PK, Halfmoon, DT, CT-to some extent) are easier to place and thus probably a better option to breed. IMO you should always start off with the best possible stock which means you need to know what to look for in your fish and have a goal in mind for what you want the outcome to be.

Generally speaking it is always better to breed the same tail type because you know what the out come will be (at least tail type-wise). Mixing different tail types can be tricky and you might not always come out with nice looking fins.

halfsuns... -looks them up-...... pretty, actually. Yeah they are both just pet store bettas... he knows the breeder they both came from, and he breeds for the colors and long fins. Still may have a whatsitcalled and a whattheheckisthat in there somewhere but meh :p

you know, I do like that shredded look on that particular betta... though I am guessing he only looks pretty when his fins are erect, hey? All well. I'll see what happens :)

I think it would be whichever thing is the dominant color or fin :) veiltail is probably more dominant... a certain color may be more dominant... But depending on the batch, you could get everything, or one thing, or a couple things.

Well, what happened was that I had my new fish in temporary heated bowls (2-3 gallons each), with Spartan in the tank. The female was interested in Dusk, and she followed him (sort of like going... "now... what exactly do you do?") but Dusk is the one who'd tear anything and everything fin from fin, wing from wing.... whatever he can, he will :o

However once she saw Spartan, she was intent on watching him, and he completely wanted her xDD you can tell lol. And in 24 hours she had her vertical lines, plumped, wiggled, and he had made a huge nest, showed off, and wiggled o.o;;

They chose each other. I didn't pair them :o should have seen him with her. He didn't get rough with her too much (like often mentioned of breeder's tries) he liked to brush against her, and flaunt for her XDD took them four days, but they did it :) now he is keeping the eggs fungus free, I guess lol